Most of the reviews already address the majority of reasons why this manga is realistic, well-researched, and worth the time. I agree with the general consensus concerning all of the above. There's no over-the-top, unrealistic spurts of improvement, or fantastically inhuman techniques. There's just a rather normal boy fighting and growing with other human beings who have their own stories and motivations, as humans do.

Plus, the art is pretty accurate, and the characters don't suffer from the cookie cutter syndrome, wherein you can't tell who is who. Also, and this is a big thing for me, you can't imagine how thankful I was to see the female fighters not soft and back-breakingly big-breasted when their diet and training regimens should keep them at body fat percentages low enough to sometimes damage their reproductive health. I was also gratified to see a not traditionally beautiful female fighter, who was drawn thicker than most shounen mangakas like to depict their women.

On that note, one pro that I haven't seen mentioned about this manga was the general role of women. They weren't just used as eye candy or sexual motivation. Sure, they were objectified a bit, but no more than what normally occurs in real life when women enter mostly male environments. There is more than one female fighter, and they serve as more than pretty decorations and cheerleaders. They train, train with, and grow with Meguru and the others. They fight in their own matches and struggle and sometimes succeed. Basically, they're human and they are more than their potential as bed partners. That seems like a pretty low bar to set, but I was super impressed and a little shocked the mangaka bothered to portray the females with any sort of decency/respect as characters in their own right, not just props. So. Yeah. Kudos. Claps. Etc.

If you remove the rubbish from your regular shounen sports manga, this is what remains.
There are no sudden spikes in power, no godly training, nor nonsense of the sort. Just a dull, everyday boy, who, with a lot of training, perseverance, a lot of self reflection and a very good guidance, is climbing the ladder one step at the time, on his way to the top.

I want to keep seeing how far he goes.

I've never been interested in MMA or sports manga/anime in general, and I only checked this out because Endo makes it. It ended up being a page-turner for me.

What really drew me in was some of the best realistic ensemble characterization I've read in a manga. No need for a bad guy, just people doing their hobby/obsession together, helping each-other out and becoming friends in the process.

To me, it reads like 50/50 slice-of-life/sports manga. The well grounded characters feel alive and realistic in their motivations and struggles, (very unlike Teppu in that regard) and the geniune friendship among the people at Meguru's MMA gym made me care for and root for them, not just in the fights but their issues with family and real life.

We even a view into the minds of the opponent characters, who have their own, realistic reasons for wanting to succeed in amateur MMA. There's no "bad guy who plays dirty" or "annoying unfriendly enemy" type here and most of the fighters have no animosity towards their opponents.

At first, I didn't pay attention to the grappling moves (there's quite a lot of those), but I ended up re-reading the manga and pay attention to all of the action. It's superbly depicted and movement is indicated in a way that makes it pretty easy for a layman like me to follow what they're doing, even with the complicated grappling moves.

You can tell Endo did a lot of research into the "boring" stuff in amateur MMA. Like, how hard it can be for girls to find opponents in their weight and skill class, or how the logistics work during a tournament. Too much to mention.

Surprisingly, a very very very enjoyable manga for me.

Surprised there's not much talk about this one, seeing as it's Hiroki Endo's lastest work after completing his famed masterpiece "Eden". Don't know anything about it personally, but my pen-pal in Japan described it as "a ridiculously good manga, a delicate integration of martial arts and realistic drama". I expected as much. Really hope a scanlator picks this one up soon; "Eden" and Endo's short stories collection were extraordinarily entertaining, passionate and thought-provoking pieces. Can't wait.

... Last updated on July 5th, 2009, 2:38am

A very good manga: it's a solid piece about sport and personal growth.
The narration is very slice of life and down to earth, but it never bores: it's like a steady flow. Trough the trainings, the torunaments and various sublots we see the progression in skill and in character of Meguru going hand to hand with the exploration of the secondary characters' lives, who each possess their own voice and consistence.
But the golden spot is taken by the sport: the fights are very well researched and beautifully drawn, the techniques are realistic and the explanations never feel heavy.
Some themes of the author are constant (like the yakuza), but ultimately add depth to the story.
From Eden is a great jump, but Endo never fails.

... Last updated on April 8th, 2012, 11:20am

It's good because it's centered on the sport and getting in shape and fit to compete and not on the "drama". The complexity of MMA and shooto is what drives this manga, not cheap plot devices, it's the type of manga written for fans of martial arts and mma specifically which is extremely popular in Japan.
It's not Eden and It will never become like it, Endo said so himself. The most philosophical this will ever get is the few parts where Takashi ponders on why he fights - which are few and far between.

If you read a lot of novels and manga then you will notice that some authors are just pure genius while some 'rarer' breed of authors are just simply good because of skills, experience, well researched and well-thought out plans. Endo Hiroki turns out to be both. His previous work was brilliant but rely too much on talent alone so it was somewhat detached and confusing to me. This one really shows his experience is starting to match up with his talent.

This work is simple, realistically grounded and straight forward. Yet, it's not boring but addictive. It has well paced drama and humor and a bit of angst. IAnyone with some writing experience will know it's incredibly hard to be simple and understandable. It's even harder to be simple and still manages to add certain depth to characters even with their simple/plain lives through some slice-of-life/humor moments. It has a seinen/sport vibe with a coming-of-age feeling.

Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect since the description that I had read wasn't very 'descriptive' but since I love reading manga, I had to invest some time to give proper judgement. I am glad that I did! The pacing of this manga, the detail, the characters and their development are all just some of the amazing attributes of this manga. I <3 Meguru; his character is so realistic in the sense that he isn't 'special', he's had some good luck combined amazingly well with his hard training/dieting and I love that he genuinely looks like he's trying, he's giving it his all.
The other pro of this manga is the rarity of females in these sports. Hiroki, I thank you for providing believable, likable female characters that represent strength and beauty alike and demonstrating the struggles of female mma fighter, kickboxers, judo, etc. If males have a tough time in these sports with dieting and opponents, it's even harder for women, so thank you for involving those details. Anyway, great read, one of my top favs so far.

I personally love this manga. As someone with some knowledge in mixed martial arts I'd have to say it's pretty accurate. The series is certainly grounded in realism and has the potential for a very exciting plot. The driving motivation behind the main characters is quite interesting and I find myself wanting to learn more and more about them; without giving too much information, this particularly true of Takashi. In the gaps between character development I find myself completely entertained by the interplay between the characters as well as the exciting fights (although it's been more grappling up to this point). I'm not sure if it's the novelty of a new series but I think this is a really good read.

To someone unfamiliar with the world of MMA I'm not sure how appealing this series may be to them, as it definitely relies more on the jargon and fundamentals of it then some other fighting series. If your a fan of series like Holyland or Hajime No Ippo then you'll probably enjoy this too.

A rather "safe" follow-up to Eden from Endo. Where Eden alternated brilliant writing with a loss of focus, this sports manga sticks to patterns. As a result it's a more consistent, solid read; be it a lot less adventurous and surprising. In the end, it's fun to read and that's what matters. Eden had its moments where I didn't know whether I was reading to know what happened next, or because I was actively enjoying the story itself.

... Last updated on February 7th, 2011, 4:26pm